Highschool with a Frozen Strawberry
by FrozenInPlace
Summary: Bleach in highschool life with my OC. toshiro x oc x ichigo. Don't like don't read.
1. Chapter 1

High school with Frozen Strawberries

Disclaimer: I obviously do not own Bleach or there would be a few changes.

This is an Ichigo& OC &Toshiro story so if this isn't your cup of tea then don't read. That is just common sense. This is rated T for language and some scenes. Let us begin shall we!

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Chapter 1

**Beep Beep Beep! **_It's getting closer._** Beep Beep Beep! **_My panting gets heavier. _**Beep Beep BEEP!**

I woke up to my head colliding with the floor, my foot caught in the sheets, and my alarm clock busting a lung on my nightstand. What a way to start school day…. SCHOOL! OH MY GOSH I'M GONNA BE LATE! I trip on my sheets some more and some stuff on the floor before making it to the bathroom. Man why did I have to over sleep! Is my alarm not loud enough or something? Focus focus I need to finish up in here before I'm really late.

I put on my uniform on and run down stairs after I'm done in the bathroom to find my mom making breakfast. "Hola madre, Buenos dias." "Buenos Dias sweetie, I made you some toast since you overslept." "Gracias mom love you, see you later!" this pretty much summed up my life. I woke up every morning with breakfast on the table before my mom went to work. My mom, little brother, and my step-dad live in a small apartment in Orlando, Florida. My family is Hispanic but my step-dad is Canadian, and my little brother Alec is a pain in the butt. But I dreaded going to school most of all.

I went to Celebration High and let me just say it wasn't the best school in the world. Almost every guy there was an aggressive Latino, who did drugs or was in gangs, the girls were mostly sluts and/or snotty. It was a mess. Most of the teachers I knew couldn't put up with their bad attitudes and were very grumpy and cussed the class out of frustration. But after a while you really can't blame them and you get over it.

The only place to escape the madhouse was the abandoned band room. It was always quiet there in the mornings and during lunch. This is where my closest friends and I meet. Luckily we have the same lunch period. I get there a little later than usual and when I open the door I'm not surprised that I get a lecture from Rangiku Matsumoto. "Where the hell have you been Natalie? You're late." She is one of the school's sexiest eye candy according to the male population of the school, mostly because of her abnormally large um…. assets. And she is very pretty especially her strawberry blonde hair, but if you know her like I do then you also know that she is usually lazy, stubborn, and a shopaholic. "Calm your tits Ran; it's only been 5 minutes." Rangiku just huffed at my response, not that she cared about what I said. As I set my stuff down, I got an arm slung around my shoulders by Renji Abarai. "Hey sweetie, how's it going?" "I'm fine Renji, but could you cut down the flirting?"

I'd have to say that Renji was the biggest flirt on campus and that does not include Mr. Shunsui the Econ teacher. Renji flirts with every female to be seen here from students to teachers to the faculty staff. It's not that he is unattractive because he is if he is your type. He has the coolest tattoos and has long blood red hair that gives him a sexy appeal I guess. Most girls here are head over heels for him because of his looks and bad-boy persona. I'm not sure why he acts that way because he is a really nice guy and a good friend, but he hides it all under his playboy attitude. "Give her some space Renji, she is obviously not interested." And that was the sound of Rukia Kuchiki, a pretty and petite girl who has a bit of a rabbit fetish. She is also one of the few people I know who can make Renji behave. "Hey everyone sorry I'm late." "Where have you been Ichigo? You're even later than Natalie was." At the mention of Ichigo's name, my stomach started to churn and get butterflies.

I have known Ichigo since the summer before our junior year at a volunteer activity a church was doing and we have been best friends ever since. But in the past month I've been feeling strange whenever he comes near me. I think I'm falling for him but I'm not positive so I hide it until I know for sure. When I met him he had short spiky hair but over the past 6 months he has let I grow out a bit and makes him look more mature. It's almost the end of our junior year and I feel confused but I know I can never tell him that, his brown eyes would eventually figure it out if I let it show too much.

"Sorry, I had to see the guidance counselor about my schedule. She had put me in the wrong English class." "What did she put you in?" I asked. "English II honors when I am supposed to be in English IV." "I see, so that means you almost have the same schedule as Rukia and Natalie!" exclaimed Rangiku. "As long as I don't have the same schedule as playboy over there." answered Ichigo. Uh oh, with a comment like that will get Renji riled up. "What did you say you orange haired freak?!" "You're one to talk pineapple head!" retorted Ichigo. Spoke too soon. "Now before this becomes another fight between you two, Ichigo you should watch what you say and Renji cool your jets. You'd think I was taking care of children." Rukia said all of this while she was holding onto Renji's ear and me holding Ichigo back by his arm. "Honestly what are we going to do with you two?" said Rangiku as I let go of Ichigo. Ichigo just huffed and went into the private practice room. This is what usually happened when he didn't get his way, he acted like a small child and pouted. And as usual I had to go and talk to him. Rukia still had a hold on Renji's ear and was having an intense argument with him that I tuned out. After a few minutes I went into the practice room to talk to Ichigo and found him sitting on the old couch there sulking.

"Hey Ichi."

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"Hey Nat." "Really Ichigo what am I going to do with you. You keep getting into trouble and it's not just with Renji and I am always the one who has to clean up after you. So are you going to apologize?" I said while folding my arms. To tell the truth I really didn't mind fighting with Renji. Renji deserves a beating half the time in my opinion. But if I told him that then Rukia would have my head for encouraging that kind of behavior. So that doesn't happen, I am trying to persuade him into apologizing to Renji and then to me for putting on death row. Ichigo stood up and started walking toward me and raised a hand to my forehead and moved my bangs a bit. "Where did you get this scar above your eyebrow?" "I fell out of bed this morning and hit my head on the nightstand in the process." He looked at me confused as if trying to process what I said. Then he started laughing? What? "What is so damn funny Ichi?!" I hated when he laughed at me. "Strawberry!" I finally screamed. You could tell he was trying to hold it in but he was still giggling. When he calmed down enough to speak again he said, "I'm sorry but imagining you falling off your bed is hysterical!" Now it was my turn to pout.

"That was what you were laughing about! Falling off of a bed really hurts you know!" At this comment he continued to laugh harder. Okay at this point I was pissed off, so I decided I wanted him o shut up. I made an attempt to cover his mouth with my hands but unfortunately he was 5"11 and I was 5"4 so you can imagine the difficulty that caused me. He was able to get free quite easily and he grabbed me and picked me up but did not get a good grip with me struggling and he lost balance and fell backwards onto the couch with me on top of him and his arms around me. I was able to wiggle out of his grip and then attacked him by tickling the weakest spot on his torso. _This will give him something to laugh about _I thought. At my actions he laughed and squirmed uncontrollably.

This time I think I got him but he gains enough control to grab my hands and switches positions so that he is on top. He pins my arms with his hands. I try to escape but he has an iron grip this time. He was breathing heavily from everything and he breathed out, "How the hell did you know?" "What, about your tickle spot. Your sisters told me all about it last time I went over," I said with a smug look on my face. "If you breathe a word of this to anyone I swear…" "Swear what Strawberry? What are you going to do? Lock me up, torture me, and dissect me like freaky Professor Mayuri?" "I thought I told you not to call me that." "What? Strawberry? But that IS your name and unless you change it that is what I will call you." "Man why do you always have to be a pain?" "You're the pain! I always have to clean up after your screw ups so don't you dare call me a pain when you started it to begin with!" while we had been arguing, I didn't realize how close we were to each other until Rangiku came in and gasped. Ichigo and I then turned to her while she stared at us and started giggling. "I didn't know you two were a couple!" that was when we realized how intimately positioned we were. Ichigo was on top of me on the old couch, pinning me down by my wrists, and his face was about 5 inches away from mine. He blushed furiously and quickly got off of me while apologizing. "It's alright," I replied as I got up from where I had been laying.

"You two should get you acts together, class is about to start," said Rukia who had poked her head in last minute. We all quickly grabbed our stuff and ran to our classes.

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How was it? please R&R tell me who you want paired in the end, more chapters coming soon!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

We got through most of our classes without much trouble and before we knew it, we were all headed to lunch. "Hey Ichigo what did you bring for lunch?" "There is nothing for you Rangiku." "Aw why do you have to be so mean Ichi?" "You can have my lunch Ran. I'm not hungry anyways." "Really Natalie! You're so awesome!" Ran gave me a bone crushing hug. Damn, one would think her chest was fake until you get a hug. Then it's like being sandwiched and suffocated by two giant pillows and as nice as that sounds to guys, it is NOT comfortable. Honestly! I'm pretty sure she has to custom order her bras because I doubt any regular store would sell her size. "Rangiku I can't breathe!" "Oops sorry!" and she let go. "Air! Oh how I missed you!" "Oh please now you're just exaggerating."

After lunch the rest of the day went on pretty smoothly until P.E. Right in the middle of class, a fight arose between Ichigo and Ikkaku Maderame. They were always at each other's throats during this period. Today's challenge was on the soccer field. Apparently the fight started when Ikkaku had bad mouthed Ichigo and challenged him to a game during warm up. Coach Kempachi never got in the way when they fought. In fact it was more like he encouraged them to. Said something about what men did and it was good entertainment. The match lasted for a whopping 10 minutes before it ended with Ikkaku's fist in Ichigo's face. It started going downhill from there.

20 minutes later I found myself in detention with Ichigo and Madarame. "How the hell did I end up in here with you two idiots?" "You're the one you got yourself involved." "It wasn't my fault Madarame! I told you someone pushed me out and I fell into it." Okay I should explain. During the fight, more people got wind of it and started coming to the fenced soccer field and there is limited space. People wanting to get a better view tried to wheedle their way to the front where my friends and I were. I felt someone shove me forward really hard and I landed on my face in the middle of their fight. I got a cut on my cheek for that, I couldn't stand up and the boys seemed oblivious of me being there so continued their fight over me. That is until , the English teacher, showed up. And I got blamed for being part of the fight! According to some kid, I had jumped out of the crowed in excitement and joined in. So that is how I ended up in detention with the two idiots.

"My parents are gonna freak that I'm late coming home because I got detention!" "Calm down you're only gonna make yourself have a heart attack if you worry too much about it," Ichigo said with a chuckle. "This isn't funny Ichigo! My parents are not as lenient as your dad is. You should know that by now." "How so?" "Remember what happened the first time you came over." "Oh yeah I forgot about that." What had happened that day was that Ichigo and I were assigned to do a project together that was due in two weeks. We made a decision to alternate between each other's houses to do the project. So for the first day we went to my house and because we made the decision at school and I had no cell phone, I had no way of warning my parents I was bringing someone home. Let alone a boy. So when we got to me place my parents started freaking out because this was the first time I had brought a boy home. They tried making Ichigo feel comfortable, but when my parents try to do that they usually make things awkward.

Ichigo then suggested we try his place next time, which actually ended up being worse than my place. At least we got stuff done at my house; his dad didn't leave us alone for the most part. Don't get me wrong his sisters are adorable and I love them but his dad, let's just say I agree with his sister Karin on this one. kept calling me his new daughter-in-law and marry me off to Ichigo. He also kept listening through the bedroom door, where we were working, with a glass cup and talking about how his son had finally become a man. And the last thing is the way he greets the Strawberry, it makes me feel a little sorry for him. I mean who greets their son with a kick or punch in the gut? Apparently does. He refuses to let me call him anything else or it would sound to formal to him. He says he likes to be carefree with kids. He even tried to persuade me into calling him "Dad", but I refused.

"Well I'm sure we can talk to your parents and maybe persuade them not to punish you." "We'll see."

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Yeah! chapter 2 done. thinking on making this a Toshiro x oc pairing but maybe i will do both. like an alternate ending kind of thing with ichigo instead. we will see. please R&R!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

When detention was over, I borrowed a cell phone and called Ichigo's dad to ask if he could give me a ride home. I wasn't ready to face my parents yet and it would good to have a backup adult. was more than happy to give me a ride and when a teacher told him what had happened, he told Ichigo they would talk about it later. What made me relieved was that he had believed that I was innocent and would vouch for me with my parents. When we got to my house, my parents were all over me wondering where I was all this time. explained what had what happened and how I was involuntarily involved. After a while they had moved from the subject started making small talk about random stuff. I sighed in annoyance. Didn't they realize there were two teenagers waiting on their verdict?

Ichigo then turned to me since it looked like they were not going to stop anytime soon, and apologized. "Look I'm sorry for getting you involved in this mess. Hope your parents let you off the hook since it wasn't your fault." "It's fine Strawberry. I should have stopped the fight before it even started and maybe none of this would have happened." "Maybe. And what did I tell you about calling me that or did you forget already. Huh? How did you get that cut on your cheek?" "Hmm? Oh this, during the fight I fell and grazed my face a bit on some rock. But its fine, so don't worry about it." He looked at me skeptically and said, "Well you still need to clean it, come on."

He took me into the bathroom and grabbed the peroxide and cotton balls from the cabinet. He then went to the drawer and took a Band-Aid. He has been here so many times its almost creepy that he knows where very thing is now. Ichigo dabbed some peroxide on the cotton ball and came toward me to clean me cheek. I reached up to take the cotton ball but he ignored me and tended the scratch. His hand felt warm against my cheek. Even though my skin was darker than Ichigo's, a blush was evident on my face. "Are you okay? Your face is a little pink." Damn he notices things too quick. But I can't just tell him the reason why, so I lied. "I'm okay; it's just a little warm in the house today." Stupid! Like he's really gonna believe that. "You sure?" He lifted a hand to my cheek. "You feel a bit warm." "That is the normal body temperature." I retorted back.

It was obvious that Ichigo wasn't buying my excuses and wanted some answers that I planned not to give him. He just stared at me as if studying my face when he suddenly went from an expression of confusion to realization. With a smug look on, he brought his face closer to mine until we were just inches apart. He smelled like chocolate from the candy bar we shared on the car ride here that his dad got me when we stopped for gas. My heart was beating so loud I swear he could hear it. But what made me really nervous was the way he looked at me. Normally when he stares it doesn't feel this intense. It felt like he had figured me out and was ready to tell the whole world my secrets. As I stood there, which felt like an eternity, I didn't look him in the eyes. I felt that if I did, it would give him a vantage point.

"Why are you blushing Natalie?" He asked it so calmly and coolly, my heart fluttered a little faster. "I-I'm not." I felt so nervous. "Then why did you stutter and why can't you look me in the eye? You know you have been acting strange over the past month." "That is not true!" "Yes it is! I've caught you staring, you can't look at me in the eye, and you always avoid being alone with me." "Just drop it Strawberry. I'm not in the mood to argue with you right now." He looked at me with an annoyed expression and said, "Fine whatever you say midget." Then he backed away from me and started walking out of the bathroom. He was already in the hallway before I realized what he called me. It hit me like a ton of bricks and I screamed, "WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOUR CALLING SHORT!" I ran out of the bathroom and he turned around and I slammed him into the wall. "YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO CALL ME THAT YOU JERK!" I was breathing heavily and I was so angry with him that I didn't realize Ichigo's breaths had become short and that brought my attention to his face. His face was a bit flushed and his breathing had hitched up. I wasn't sure why but that was when I realized how close we were. "Whoa there feisty pants, no need to get so riled up."

I huffed in anger and stormed off when I heard him laugh down the hall. Now he is laughing at me? I went into my room and slammed the door. I brought my hand up to my face where he last touched. Great, first he embarrasses me and now he laughs at me. What a pain in the ass. Well I'm gonna get back at him for this. I smile, revenge will be sweet.

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wow two chapters in one day! had to fix some stuff because when i uploaded these chapters it left out some words. but new chapter coming soon so stay tuned!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The next day I felt relieved because talked my parents out of grounding me after what happened yesterday. Good thing my little brother was at a school club yesterday and didn't come home until later on. The last thing I need was for him to witness what happened between me and Ichigo. But now I'm heading back to school and I have to face him today. Maybe I'll just skip going to the band room today and find somewhere else to wait for the bell to ring. I found a quiet place in the gym by the basketball racks in front of the equipment closet and pulled out a book to entertain myself until class started. As I sat there engrossed with my book I didn't hear the gym doors open and someone slip in. I then heard the click of high heels and sneakers skid a bit on the court floor. Hoping they didn't see me, I hid behind the rack full of basketballs and peeked from between the balls.

"Why did you bring me here Momo?" Wait that sounded like… "Oh come on I just wanted to spend time with you. It's been a while since we talked and you've grown up a lot Shiro." Yup, that was the voices of Toshiro Hitsugaya and his childhood friend Momo Hinamori. Toshiro was a quiet boy who spent most of his time studying, working, in fencing club, and music. He mostly played classical music. He had white hair and blue/green eyes, and about two inches taller than me. He was one of the shortest boys around here and was picked on by other kids about his height, which gave him a height complex. Momo was a beautiful girl who loved wearing nice frilly clothing, or what you would call a girly girl. She had mid-length brown hair that she always had done in a nice hair style every day and brown eyes. Most girls admired her flawless looks and guys fawned over her much like they do Rangiku. The only difference was that Rangiku was a freak of nature where the chest area is concerned.

Toshiro was a year younger than Momo, making him a junior and Momo a senior. But they dated once upon a time before there big breakup five months ago. Momo had apparently had an affair with a bitter enemy of Toshiro named Sousuke Aizen, who went to another school, behind Toshiro's back. They haven't talked much since. So what they are doing here together? I'm not sure why she would cheat on him. He is not a bad looking guy and even though he is quiet and distant at first he is easy to get along with. He has the same classes as me and a friend of Ichigo, and is my partner in English, Science, and Math.

"I really don't want to talk right now and classes are starting in ten minutes." "Take me back Toshiro!" she blurted out. I gasped at her straight forwardness. "Please! I was wrong to cheat on you and then break up, Aizen is a real jerk. I'm so sorry, but please take me back. I promise I won't do it again." She was crying now and I felt a little sorry for her. Toshiro's face softened just a little bit but his voice remained stern' "Momo, you broke my heart into a million pieces, how do expect me to forgive you for that. Maybe if it had been with a different person, I might have considered it. But you did it with that bastard Aizen, even after I warned you about him you still went to him. And now this is what I told you would happen if you got involved with him. So no I can't and will not take you back." Momo started to sob and ran out of the gym. It was completely silent and my breathing began going back to normal. I hadn't even realized I had been holding my breath.

Toshiro just stood there; he didn't look sad, happy, or angry. He just had a faraway look in his eyes. "You can come out now. No point in hiding anymore." I came out of my hiding spot. "How did you know I was there?" He shrugged, "Had a feeling." I rolled my eyes, "Oh yeah I forgot you had a sixth sense or something like that." He smirked a bit at my comment. "However the real question is what you are doing in here hiding behind the basketball rack. Aren't you usually with your friends in the morning?" "Well technically I am with a friend right now." Toshiro sighed, "I think you know what I mean." "Well if you must know, Ichigo pissed me off and I'm thinking of a way to get back at him." "Well that seems to be his specialty. So what were you planning to do to him?" "Oh well I haven't thought of anything yet. But something that will get him really irritated. Will you help me think of something Toshiro?" I pleaded. "What, why me?" "Because you're good at this sort of thing, so please help me!" He looked at me for a moment and sighed heavily, "Okay I'll help you." "Yeah, Thank you!" I said giving him a quick hug in which he stiffened a bit. "Okay, so what makes Ichigo upset?" he asked.

I thought about it for a moment, "Well he hates being called Strawberry, but that's all I really know and he gets really annoyed at some people like his cousin Kon who looks a lot like Ichigo but has a bit lighter skin. Kon is a pervert and whenever he comes over he makes Ichigo's life a living hell by framing him for doing perverted things in town." "That seems like a good idea. Do you know how to get a hold of Kon?" "No I don't." "Well we can nix that then. Does he get jealous?" I cocked my head in confusion, "Jealous?" "Yeah, when you or any of your friends get hit on by other guys." "Sometimes, but only Rukia and I since we are the only ones who are single. Last time some guy named Kiego tried to make a pass at me and Ichigo got really mad about it." "Then in that case you should find yourself a boyfriend, even if it's for a couple of days, and irritate Ichigo." I looked at him wide eyed, "That's perfect!" "Could you get someone like Kiego to do this with you?" "I'm sure I can but the problem is that since he already flirts with me, I'm afraid he might take this too seriously and I don't really trust him. Maybe I could get someone Ichigo would never expect me to be with." "That plan makes a lot of sense but who are you gonna get to do this with you?" I thought about it for a minute, who do I know that will be the least likely person Ichigo would expect me to be with? That's when it hit me, and I turned to Toshiro, "Will you be my boyfriend Toshiro?"

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just a little drama and a cliffhanger. I LOVE SUSPENCE! new chapters are coming but thay take forever to type up. hopefully there will be a chapter a day if not every other day. see ya!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

There was a moment of silence between us before he responded, "What?" "Please Hitsugaya you are the most eligible for this role. Ichigo would never expect me to be with you! You're one of his closest friends and honestly I trust you more than anyone else with this. So please help me!" He stood there a moment before replying, "No." "Come on why not! It was your idea to begin with." "I have nothing against Ichigo, why should I do it?" I thought for a moment when an idea came to me. "Not against Ichigo maybe, but you do against Hinamori." He froze at my comment. Yes! He just might help me now. "What makes you think I want to get back at her?" he challenged. "Why not? You said so yourself that you couldn't forgive her for what she did. I mean she dumped you to go out with the person you hate the most, and then had the audacity to plead for you to take her back when it didn't turn out the way she wanted. You know for a fact that if Aizen didn't dump her then she would still be with him and she used you as a fall back. Anyone would want to get back at someone who did that to them."

He stood there and listened to everything I said in silence. I wondered if maybe I took it too far, but he interrupted me by saying, "Okay, I'll help you. You were correct in thinking I wanted revenge. I do want to get back at her for what she did and this might just work." He turned and smiled a bit, it was the first time I had really seen him hint anything like a smile. He always looked stressed out and had what seemed like a permanent scowl plastered on his face. But I liked this side of him better. "Great then we should discuss what we are going to do." "Alright then meet me at the front gates after school and we will go to my place, my grandmother would like some company." "Okay then I'll call my parents later and tell them I'm studying at your place." "That works." That's when the last minute bell rang and we ran to chemistry class together.

We made it through first period without being dissected by Professor Mayuri and I was able to make it without interaction at all with Ichigo. Second period Economics went by without a hitch especially since Mr. Jushiro kept passing out half the class. I still wonder why he doesn't go ahead and retire. By third period we were inseparable, which was Toshiro's idea. He said that the two victims in mind won't notice but everyone else will and won't be as shocked. Rangiku and Rukia seemed to have bought our act. Toshiro had caught Rangiku looking toward us during French, taught by Miss Yoruichi, when I asked a question about a phrase and took the opportunity to lean in close to look in the book we were sharing. He was close enough I noticed his long white eyelashes. Why were men born with nicer eyelashes than women? We have to put on eyeliner and mascara to make ours look nice and guys just have naturally nice eyelashes. But I was so drawn to him that I wasn't paying attention to his explanation to my question. Which I guess confirmed it with Ran.

Even after Toshiro backed away I didn't stop looking at him. Why would anyone want to break up with Toshiro? Sure he was distant, but once you get to know him he was a pretty sweet guy. As we left French, Ichigo pulled me away from Toshiro and said, "We need to talk." We walked a bit so we were away from the crowd. "What about?" I asked when he finally let go of my arm. I looked at him in eye, something I haven't done in a while. "You have been avoiding me all day and I want to know why." Ichigo said frustrated. "I haven't been avoiding you; I've just been busy today is all. Look I gotta get to my next class so I will see you later okay. See ya!" With that I turned away and caught up with Toshiro. When we got the band room and Mr. Koname took role, Toshiro asked if everything was okay. "I'm fine thanks. I'm just a little worried if I can pull this off." He smirked and said, "You will do fine." After a moment I asked if he had lunch plans. "Not really why?" "Then you should come eat with me! It might help with our plan and you don't have to sit next to me if you don't want to." "Um okay." "Great!" I took my place behind the piano and he went and grabbed the violin.

He and I had a duet this period and it was for a grade. I only played the piano and a bit of guitar, but Toshiro played cello, violin, guitar, and bass. He told me that he prefers stringed instruments over wind instruments. Says he was never cut out to play a trumpet or sax. This was one thing we had in common. I found some wind instruments obnoxious and one of the reasons why I played the piano, but someday I want to learn to play the cello and harp. After class Mr. Koname asked that I stay a bit and need to discuss something in his office. Even though he was blind, Mr. Koname was a great trumpet and cello player. As I left his office, I was about to head down to the cafeteria; when I heard a beautiful sound on the grand piano in the auditorium. I thought I would go check who it was since it was lunch break, and walked in as quietly as possible, as to not disturb the musician. I pulled back the curtain a bit and was shocked when I saw who it was sitting on the piano bench.

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yeah another in the hole! man i'm exausted. couldn't post it yeterday cuz i was sick and testing is coming up so don't be too suprised if it takes longer to post but I WILL FINISH THIS STORY! i hate it when people write stuff and never finish. oh well. :)


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

I went into the auditorium to find a familiar white head of hair and his fingers gliding flawlessly across the piano. Toshiro? I did not know he played piano too! This was a surprise, why didn't he ever tell me? He plays so beautifully. He was playing a slow, sweet ballad I didn't recognize. As I listened I closed my eyes and allowed myself to be drawn into the music. But the tempo changed suddenly and it transitioned from the balled to a dark, haunted tune. It contrasted nicely with the ballad and the awkward notes he played gave it a haunted and sad sound that intrigued me. Never had I heard so much complexity in one song and I could not pull myself away from it. The song came to a dramatic end and he lifted his hands ever so slightly and placed his hands in his lap to indicate the song was over. I stood in awe and started clapping. Startled, he spun around and saw me smiling in the corner.

Recognizing me he let out a breath and asked, "How long have you been there? I thought you had gone to lunch already." I started walking toward him saying, "Just long enough. Mr. Koname held me back a bit. That was beautiful Toshiro. Why didn't you ever tell me you played piano too?" This was the first time I had ever used his first name; he lowered his eyes and blushed a bit at my compliment. It was funny to see him flustered since he rarely got embarrassed. It was kinda… cute. "Maybe I'll tell you someday," he said while closing the piano and standing up, "but for now, let's get to lunch." I sighed and agreed, and then we went to the cafeteria.

By the time we got there lunch was half over and Rangiku was whining as usual. "Where have you been Natalie? I missed you! So what did you bring for lunch? Hmm what is Toshiro doing here?" I huffed and replied, "I was in the band room because Mr. Koname had to talk to me about something; second, no I didn't bring lunch today; and third, I had invited Toshiro to eat with us since he had no plans." "Oh well have a seat then Toshiro," Rukia invited him to sit by her. We kept small talk and Toshiro stayed engaged. By the looks of it, Ichigo had not caught on to anything, thankfully. He and I talked very little but not to the point of suspicion.

The bell rung and we all started toward 5th period English. Mr. Kuchiki partnered me up with Rukia and we took turns reading The Great Gatsby, which was the book we were studying this semester. Rukia scooted close to me and whispered, "I think Toshiro likes you Natalie." I snapped my head to her; could she have figured us out already? "What makes you say that?" I asked nonchalantly. "I've just noticed the way he's been looking at you today, and he kept staring at you during lunch." Well at least she has bought the bait, but doesn't seem to know anymore than that. We dropped the subject, and finished our reading just before the bell rung. The rest of the day went quite smoothly after that. After my last class and another fight between Ichigo and Madarame later, the last bell rang and I started heading toward the front gate to meet up with Toshiro. I was excited to go to Toshiro's place, I had heard a lot about his grandmother. She was kind and generous women, she is especially known for taking in orphans.

I appear at the gate and search the crowd for him. I see him leaning on the wall messing with his phone. A breeze blew and ruffled his hair a bit. I ran up to him and called his name, gaining his attention. He looked up from his phone and spotted me headed toward him. He put it away and greeted me, "Hello Monserate." Monserate? Why does he always greet people with such formalities? He does this everyone even his friends. The only person I have ever heard him call by their first name was Momo Hinamori. If we are going to be a fake couple at least he could call me by my first name. "Hey Toshiro, but please call me by my first name. It makes us look like a more convincing couple. So let's start over by you greeting me by my first name. Hello Toshiro." "Hello um… Natalie." "You see that wasn't so hard now was it?" I smiled. He looked at me and a light blush dusted his cheeks. It was so cute when he was embarrassed. He looked away and said, "Let's get going or grandma will start to worry." "Okay!" and with that we started walking to Toshiro's house.

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finally done! next chapter has some drama, stay tuned!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

On the walk there we kept small talk mostly about studies, what college we plan to attend, and music. As we turned a corner we saw a girl running and crying after a guy. We kept walking toward them, but when we got close enough to see their faces, Toshiro stopped dead. I looked at him and noticed his right hand was clenched in a tight fist. Then I turned to the direction he was looking. I was shocked at who exactly was crying… Momo! She was following that Aizen kid that dumped her. The only reason I knew it was Aizen was that I had seen him at our school a few times either to drop off Momo or walk around with her in the morning. She was wailing at him loud enough, I could make out a bit of what she was saying. They turned a corner and were headed toward us, which snapped Toshiro out of his trance and he pulled me into a nearby ally. We hid behind some boxes at the entrance of the ally and listened to them get closer so we could hear their conversation.

Momo was wailing, "Please Aizen! I don't want to break up with you! Why are you doing this! Please don't leave me!" She was crying heavily and sounded desperate. Aizen stopped and said, "Please stop following Momo. You are going to be credited as a creeper if you keep following me." He said it so calmly it made me sick. "But Aizen-" "Do I need to repeat myself? Let me make this clear to you Hinamori; I do not love you anymore. Now stop following me, because you know what will happen if you don't do as I say." Momo started sobbing, this man was pure evil. How can he stand there and say that without a hint of emotion as if he were just mentioning the weather. It wasn't so much what he said that pissed me off; it was how he said it, with that sadistic look on his face and that calm voice of his.

I noticed Toshiro was visibly shaking, I tapped his shoulder and he turned to me. I motioned for him to follow me out of the ally; honestly I couldn't stand it anymore in there. He followed me and we made it out without being noticed. When we exited the ally, he just stood there with his fist shaking. He looked really angry; I can't believe she went back to Aizen after asking Toshiro to take her back just this morning. That was just wrong. Toshiro's hand was so tight, his knuckles had turned white. On impulse, I grabbed his hand. It stopped shaking a bit and he looked at me as I started to coax his fingers to release their hold on his palm. When it finally opened, I was shocked to find blood on his hand. Was he so angry that he clenched his hand so hard he drew blood? I looked up at him and said calmly, "Come on, let's get you cleaned up." He nodded quietly and we walked silently.

Part way there was when the rain started to come down, then pour, then thunder and lightning. The forecast said it would rain but not this early in the afternoon. We started running and by the time we made it to his porch, we were soaked. He grabs his keys and unlocks the door allowing me to enter first. He announced our arrival and his grandmother came from the kitchen with a towel, drying her hands from what looked like washing dishes. She greeted Toshiro and noticed me standing there. She seemed a bit surprised but a smile crept onto her face and she grabbed two towels from the hall closet. "Hello Toshiro how was your day at school? And who is this young lady with you?" she asked while handing us the towels. "Hello grandma it was okay and she is… um-" "I'm his girlfriend Natalie Monserate. Nice to meet you, Toshiro has told me a lot about you." I interrupted and extended a hand in her direction; which she warmly accepted. I could feel Toshiro's eyes on me as his grandmother led me to the bathroom with a spare change clothes. "These were Momo's old clothes she left behind. Apparently they were too big for her but they look like they should fit fine on you." She said handing me the clothes. I thanked her and went to change.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

I looked at myself in the full length mirror in the bathroom. The clothes fit okay; it was a t-shirt and some jeans. I smoothed the front of the t-shirt, and it was a little loose around my middle and the jeans were a bit big for me so I borrowed one of Toshiro's belts. I wasn't extremely over weight but I wasn't a stick like some of the girls at school were. I was usually able to hide the bit of flab I did have by wearing dark loose clothing. Except my school uniform, it was a navy blue polo shirt with a black skirt that wasn't the most flattering outfit in the world. My dark, curly brown hair was a mess and my dark brown eyes were as boring as ever. I walked out after changing and hung my clothes in the laundry room and started towel drying my hair and brushing it.

I walked into Toshiro's room and looked around. It was an ordinary boy's room, except it was neat and clean. It suited him. He had a flat screen TV with an Xbox and a small couch in front of it, a shelf with soccer and music awards, closet and dresser, a queen size bed, and a small desk in the corner. It was comfy. I walked to his dresser and saw some pictures on the tack board behind it. Pictures covered the entire board even overlapping each other. Some pictures were of his grandmother, Momo, a couple of pictures of them when they were a couple, him and his friends, soccer and music tournaments, even some when he was a little boy. But there was a few I did not recognize. Under some of the more recent pictures were a couple of photos of some adults holding a small child. The child looked happy; another picture showed the same child but a couple years older playing with the same couple and the final picture was a family picture of the three of them. The little boy looked like Toshiro, are the other two his parents?

Toshiro walked in at that moment with dry clothes and wet hair. He saw me looking at the picture board with a towel on his head. His hair was a mess and stuck up n some places. It looked like he had tried to towel dry his hair and it didn't work out. I laughed and said, "Nice hair style Toshiro." He looked at me funny and caught his reflection in the bathroom mirror and started to fix his hair. He tried to tame his hair but it was an unsuccessful attempt; and it out stuck more. I giggled at him, grabbed his brush off his dresser and walked toward him. "Need some help?" I asked. Before he could answer I led him to his bed and he sat down. I climbed behind him and slowly started to fix his snow white hair. His hair was soft; it reminded me of a kitten. I ran my fingers through his hair and started to towel dry it. When it was dry enough, I gently brushed it. He didn't say anything while I brushed it but every once in a while I would hear him moan. It was so quiet it was more like a purr, he started to nod off. I asked him if he was tired, "No I'm fine thanks," he replied. I finished and he looked like his normal self again. "There, all done. Is it alright?" He got up and looked in the mirror; there was just a hint of a smile on his face. He looked at me from the mirror and I smiled back.

He walked toward me and sat down next to me on the bed. After a moment he asked, "Have you ever had a boyfriend before?" That simple question surprised me but I answered, "Yes, one. Freshman year." "So you have some experience with this sort of thing." "Yeah I guess. I mean he and I never did anything intimate if that is what you mean." "Wait so you have never kissed anyone before?" I squirmed a bit and sighed, "No I haven't. It's not like we are going to do anything like that tomorrow so I assumed it didn't matter." he nodded at my response. "It's not necessary. I was just curious." I snapped my head at him and had a slight smirk on his face. Why that little… "Well just in case and if you ever get lost, follow my lead. But don't be too shy and try some things yourself, but nothing too extreme." "You don't have to worry about anything, I'll try and make it as believable as possible," I replied. He nodded at my response and his grandmother called us for dinner.

It was delicious! It was a steaming bowl of miso soup, apparently one of Toshiro's favorites. For dessert we had homemade shortbread cookies with green tea. It was nice and the company was pleasant; his grandmother was really sweet and told me stories of Toshiro's childhood. They were really funny and cute. He blushed a few times which was adorable. After dinner the storm had not gotten any better and so I called my parents to tell them that I would be staying at Toshiro's house for the night. His grandmother would not let me out of the house until the storm calmed down. Since this was a two bedroom house, Momo and Toshiro had to share a room since they were kids and now she had moved out when she dated Aizen, there was only one bed; Toshiro's. He offered to sleep on the floor but I said that his bed was big enough for the two of us. I mean it was a queen size bed so why not. He shrugged and walked off to find some extra blankets, while I went to the laundry room to check my uniform. It was a bit wrinkled so I asked Toshiro if they had an iron. Once it had heated up I started with the collar and worked my way down the shirt. The loudest thunder clap sounded right over the house and I screamed in pain. The thunder had startled me and I had bumped the ironing table and put my hands out in front of me to steady myself. Unfortunately I didn't pay attention to the wobbly hot iron and it fell on my left hand. My scream brought Toshiro running to the laundry room. He saw me on the floor clutching my wrist. "Hey are you okay?!" He knelt down beside me and took my wrist to examine the damage. The burn was pretty bad, it was a dark red and some of the skin was gone. It reminded of what was under a scab on a scrape that hasn't had time to heal. It was obvious that it would leave a scar even though it wasn't that deep.

He helped me up and led me to the bathroom. He gave me a towel and turned on the water. I wondered what he was going to do, until he plunged my hand under the cold water. It was so painful I bit down on the towel to muffle my screams. After a few minutes the pain had subsided a bit and he let go of my wrist to get some burn cream and bandage. He slowly and carefully dried my hand and applied the burn cream. It still hurt like crazy but he was very gentle as he wrapped my hand. "Are you okay? This is going to hurt for a while," he asked me with concern. "I'll be fine it should heal in a week or so. It's not that deep." He looked at me relieved that I was okay. His gaze seemed to change and I was mesmerized by his beautiful sea green eyes. Then I noticed he was slowly leaning in. my heart was beating so fast and he was getting closer. He was inches away when he stopped. His eyes looked conflicted and he backed away, "Well I'm done now. Let's get some rest; we have a big day tomorrow." A bit disappointed I replied, "Okay."

We walked into his room and we settled down on the bed. As I lay down he turned off the lamp and the only thing could hear was the raging storm outside. I wasn't tired and I tossed and turned a bit trying to find a good position. The storm wasn't helping either. Toshiro shifted in his sheets which caused me to look at him. It led me to think about the incident in the bathroom. He was going to kiss me but stopped, why? I don't know why but for some reason I wanted him to kiss me. Was I falling for him? I need to stop thinking about it. It will just confuse me even more than I already am, but still. I looked at Toshiro and saw his breathing was irregular. He is awake too, must be in the same boat I'm in. I turned my body to face him and whispered, "Hey are you awake Toshiro?" After a moment he turned his body to me and said, "Yeah, can't sleep either?" I nodded in response. He looked up at the ceiling and sighed deeply. After a few moments an idea popped up in my head. "Hey let's play a game." He looked at me puzzled. "We can play 20 questions. You know for tomorrow." He shrugged and said, "Okay." So we played, I learned a lot about him I never expected. Like how his favorite bands are EXO-K, Super Junior, and Nickleback; his favorite color is blue and he loves jellybeans. I laughed a bit at that one; he never struck me as the type who would enjoy that kind of candy. It just seemed a bit childish for someone as serious as he is. He looked at me and blushed when he heard me giggle and he made me swear not to tell anyone. Closer to the end of our game we were so tired I don't think we finished the last question and we fell asleep.

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sorry its been a while but with projects and exams coming up you know how that is. and by the way toshiro's hair is like in the last season, when he got a new haircut. mostly i think it makes him look adorable and older yet young at the same time. hoped you enjoyed it!


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

This chapter alternates between Toshiro's and Natalie's POV's

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The next morning the rain had finally stopped and it was sunny again. We woke up and got our uniforms on in silence. We were about to walk out the door when his grandmother made us come back and eat breakfast. We ran out as soon as we finished and washed our plates, yelling our goodbyes. As we were nearing the school, I looked at Toshiro and decided to put our plan into effect. I took his hand and intertwined our fingers. He stiffened and looked at me questionably; I looked at him and gave him a look that said to begin the plan. He relaxed and closed his fingers around mine, and that was when we reached the gates.

We walked through the gates with laced fingers and I stayed as close to him as possible but not to the point of discomfort. I took him to the band room and he swung our hands a bit; he was pretty good at this. We opened the band room and were greeted with an excited squeal. Rangiku had pulled me into a bone crushing hug and said, "Natalie! I knew there was something going on between you and Toshiro! And now you two are a couple! Eh, what happened to your hand?" "Rangiku I can't breathe!" I managed to say. Toshiro just smirked at my discomfort. After letting me go and allowing me to breathe again, we were bombarded with questions by Rangiku, Rukia, and Renji. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Ichigo looking at us with a scowl on his face. It was obvious that e was pissed of that I didn't confide in him with this. I had promised him months ago if I was ever interested in someone then I would tell him first. So the look on his face was annoyed and pissed off; just what I was looking for. Next was Hinamori when we see her. We kept up with our act throughout every class. He was an expert in flirting, which was a surprise to me. But when lunch came I had a few surprises of my own.

Toshiro's POV:

What is wrong with me! How is it that she can make my heart beat so fast just by holding my hand and flashing her beautiful smile at me. This crazy but it's not the first time I felt this way when she is around. Now that I think about it, this has been going on for a month now. It makes no sense to me, but this feeling is almost the same as I felt when Momo and I were dating. But I thought I pushed these feelings away when I started feeling them again. But last night was when they started all over again when Natalie brushed my hair. She was so gentle and her fingers kept brushing against the back of my neck. It drove me crazy but yet I didn't want her to stop. Then I almost kissed her when she burned her hand with the iron. What was I thinking! I can still feel her hand… damn it! I'm supposed to pretend to be 'in love' with her, not actually fall for her! Besides Ichigo likes her; I can tell. For all I know she could like him too. I just want to get this day over with, but at the same time I don't want it to end. I must be crazy or sick, or am I?

Natalie's POV:

It was during lunch that I could see Hinamori look toward Toshiro and I. It was obvious that she had heard the rumors about us and was angry. I don't understand why since she was the one who cheated on Toshiro. She suddenly got up and started walking toward us. Toshiro was talking to Renji and had not noticed Momo yet. I squeezed his hand and gained his attention. He looked at me and then noticed Momo headed toward our table. He looked a bit panicky so when she was close enough I leaned toward Toshiro and kissed he corner of his mouth.

Toshiro's POV:

I stopped breathing. Even as her lips left they seemed to linger there. Momo just stood there in complete shock and I in turn smiled at Natalie and pulled her closer to me to keep the ball rolling. She laid her head on my shoulder and sighed. Hinamori looked thoroughly disgusted and stomped away, it had gotten under her skin and my revenge was almost complete. When she finds it to be and act she will go completely crazy and it will be pure joy watching. Ichigo has been acting the same way as Momo. He gives me dirty looks and I just keep up our act by being closer or putting my arm around Natalie's shoulders. It is comical at the reactions I get from him. Natalie was right, this was fun.

Natalie's POV:

Toshiro was a bit surprised about the kiss but he seemed cool with it. Ichigo had also seen my little stunt and just got up from the table and left, angry. This plan was working better than I thought. During 5th period Ichigo had a permanent scowl on his face and Momo had her nose in the air, and then looked straight at Toshiro and I. Mr. Kuchiki let pick our own reading partners today and I chose Toshiro, naturally. I leaned into Toshiro and he wrapped an arm around me as we read. Ichigo looked angrier and my actions, so looked up at Toshiro and he turned to me and leaned in close. He slid past my lips and whispered seductively in my ear, causing me to blush I saw Ichigo and Momo from the corner of my eye and they were seething. Toshiro pulled away and smiled. I closed my eyes and put my head on his shoulder, smiling.

After class we walked to our last classes leaving them in our dust. When Toshiro picked me up from 7th period, we walked together hand in hand. The rest of the gang caught up to us, including Ichigo, and we walked to the buses together. Rangiku was still surprised at us and went on about how we were such a cute couple. That was when Ichigo exploded. "That's it!" Ichigo yelled and we all looked at him in surprise. He grabbed my wrist, careful of my bandage, and yanked me away from Toshiro. I yelled in protest, "Ichigo what the hel…mmph!" and all I could feel was a warm pair of lips on mine.

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Yeah another in the hole! future chapters will have more alternative POV so bear with me. and sorry it took so long. Exams are this week and ive been moving all weekend so hang in there! See ya!


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

I was frozen. My eyes widened and all I could see was orange. He pulled away and I could faintly hear gasps around me but all I could register in my mind was Ichigo kissed me. He kissed me. Out of jealousy? Wait does that mean he likes me? Or was it just a jealous impulse that means nothing? All these questions kept popping in my head but my thoughts were interrupted by Rukia who was scolding Ichigo for kissing a girl who was already dating someone. That's when Toshiro stepped in and broke the tension, "It's alright Rukia." Everyone turned to him, including me. He looked at me but I could see something in his eyes when he did. He looked almost sad. He came and stood beside me and explained, "We were never really a couple. We only did this so we could get back at some people. Natalie had wanted to get back at Ichigo and I wanted to get back at Momo. So we came up with this plan to be a couple to get under their skin." Everyone was silent. Then Renji asked, "Wait so you guys were faking this entire time?" I face palmed, "Yes Renji we just explained that. It was just for today but I still never expected Ichigo to react the way he did." Ichigo blushed; he had some explaining to do. "Well now that that's out in the open, you two need some time to talk." said Toshiro. He then turned to me and said, "Thanks for today Natalie." "N-no problem Toshiro," and with that he turned and left, but I swear he still had that sad look in his eyes. The rest of the group followed him yelling their goodbyes.

Ichigo stood there silently and I looked at him expectantly. I wasn't sure what to think right now. Was it a spur of the moment kind of thing triggered by jealously? And if it wasn't then did I want to be with him? Did I want to get into a deeper relationship with Ichigo? He looked up and into my eyes and said, "So … it was all a setup?" I faced palmed again and sighed, "Yes Ichigo." "But why?" Is he serious right now?! How could he have forgotten what happened the other day! In anger I yelled, "You idiot! To get back for you did over at my house the other day! You really pissed me off so I went looking for payback." "For what? Calling you a midget!" "That's part of the reason but mostly because you made fun of me, toyed with my emotions, and teased me like I was your personal plaything." He looked at me with a puzzled expression on his face. I took a deep breath; was he always this dense? But that doesn't explain the reason he kissed me. A part of hopes he likes me but there is the part of me that is wary. Mostly because of a certain white haired friend and the moment we shared at his house.

I was so emotionally confused. My thoughts are interrupted by him shifting his feet. There was a blush on his face, he looked nervous and embarrassed. I looked at him, tired of all the tension, and asked straight out, "Why did you kiss me Ichigo?" My heart beat faster in anticipation. He shuffled his feet a bit and said, "Because I like you Natalie." I was awestruck. This was for real? "I was jealous that you were spending more time with Toshiro lately and I guess I went over the edge when I saw you two together. And I'm sorry about the other day." I looked at him and asked, "If you liked me to that extent, why didn't you say anything about it? It confused the crap out of me when you teased me." He smiled, "I teased you because I like seeing the reactions I get. You're funny when you're angry and cute when you're embarrassed." He walked toward me, closer with every word he said. He leaned down close enough now I could feel his warm breath on my face and said, "And the way you smile and laugh, brightens my day even more." And with that he closed the gap between us and brushed his warm lips against mine. All of his confession was still trying to wrap itself around my head, but he started to deepen the kiss asking for a response. I snapped out of the stupor I was in and started to kiss him back.

Ichigo's POV:

I was a bit surprised when she started to kiss me back. I knew for a fact that she had never been kissed before, so it wasn't a total shock that she was nervous. I had one other girlfriend before and she had been the first girl I had kissed, but that was freshman year. Natalie has her innocent moments and this was one of them. She was shy and hesitant but she was warming up to the kiss. But as much as I wanted to do this forever, I reluctantly pull away and lean my forehead on hers. I looked into her eyes, took a deep breath and asked, "Natalie, will you go out with me?"

Natalie's POV:

I was dumbfounded. It registered in my head that I should answer him and I even surprised myself with my response, "Yes." He let out a breath and smiled. "How's tomorrow at 4:00? Meet me at the Barnes and Noble in the mall." Tomorrow was Saturday; I guess my parents would let me go. "Okay," I replied. He gave me a kiss on my forehead and took my hand. We called Mr. Ishiin and he came to pick us up. He noticed me and Ichigo holding hands and started going hysterical about me being his new daughter-in-law and Ichigo stepping up as a man all over again. It reminded me of when I first met the man. When we got to my apartment complex, Ichigo offered to take me upstairs so he could ask my parents for their permission. We joked as we climbed up the four flights of stairs. By the time we got to the door I had a hard time standing up I was laughing so hard. I stumbled into the living room and was greeted by the stares of my family. I stood in shock as I saw my three older brothers there on the couch. I dropped my bag; this was bad, really really bad. Ichigo need permission to ask me out but now my three older overprotective brothers are here and the two oldest are military! Ichigo will be shark food and I brought him home with me; I practically led him to his grave!

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Yay finally had time to finish! its been hard trying to find names for some of my oc's family since i used an actual setting in florida so it would be weird if i used japanese names in an american setting. so yes celebration high really does exisist and it sucks. and i am using actual places in orlando for this story. (mostly because i find it hard to write in a setting i know next to nothing about... hint hint japan) and i am sorry if the Bleach characters are occ but you know how fanfiction works. See Ya!


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

I walked through the door and into a lion's den. And these lions are my three overprotective older brothers. Today just isn't my day is it. Everyone looked up and saw me frozen in the doorway. Ray, the second oldest, pulled me into a tight hug, "Hey little sis it's been a while! You have grown so much!" I forgot that they were coming over to celebrate Ray coming home from deployment. He just came home a few weeks ago from a two year deployment and he was gonna drop by for a visit for a few weeks. How could I have forgotten! But it was good to see him safe and home again. But I was having trouble breathing with his arm muscles crushing me. Bejebus he was strong! "Ray I can't breathe. Your muscles are choking me!" I managed to choke out. "Yeah right," he said while giving me a kiss on the cheek. I hugged Chris, the eldest, and Mike, the youngest of the three, and they gave their greetings. I almost forgot Ichigo was with me until Alec, the youngest out of all of us, pointed him out. They all turned to him and he stiffened with all the attention directed at him. I grabbed his hand and dragged him inside. My brothers just looked at him and he shifted uncomfortably under their stares. I took a deep breath and introduced him to them, "Everyone I'd like you to meet Ichigo, he is um… a close friend of mine." Ichigo looked at me nervously. Mom waved and greeted Ichigo as she usually did, "Hello Ichigo, it's nice to see you again. What can we do for you?" "Umm… is it alright if I talk to you and Mr. Dan about something important?" My mom and stepdad looked at each other and nodded, "Of course sweetie. Come on, we can talk in the study." And with that they left and closed the study behind them.

Ichigo's POV:

I was nervous when I first walked into her apartment. It seemed that she hadn't expected her brothers to be here, and by the way they looked at me they wanted to know what our relationship was. From what she had told me, anyone who ever wants to date her has to go through her brothers first. I understand that they want to look after their little sister and don't want her to get hurt. I know that's how I feel about Karin and Yuzu when they start dating. She said that it ultimately doesn't change her parent's mind whether they say yes or no. She compared it to like an orientation when you get hired for a job. But it doesn't change how nervous I am once that study door closed behind me.

Natalie's POV:

All eyes were on me when that door closed. I felt like shrinking and becoming invisible so I wouldn't feel all the skeptical stares I was getting from three bloodhounds. Don't get me wrong, I love my brothers to death but I would like to be able to bring a boy home and not feel like the world was going to crush me. We were waiting a verdict and the longer they were in there, the more nervous I became. First of all, I'm still not sure of my feelings for him; second I don't want my brothers to hurt him if my parents say yes. A knock on the front door broke the tension and I rushed to see who it was. I opened the door and low and behold it was Toshiro. "Toshiro! What are you doing here?" "You left your necklace at me place last night so I thought I would bring it along." I noticed that he had grocery bags, but the store is a bit of a ways from here and not exactly in the same way as his house. I smiled; he went out of his way to bring me back my necklace. It was sweet. "Thanks Toshiro I appreciate it," I said with a sweet smile. He smiled back at me, he smiled! It was a small smile but a smile none the less. It made me happy to see him smile and it reminded me of last night; I blushed a bit at the memory.

"So are you and Ichigo going out now?" I looked behind me and my brothers were watching the door with Toshiro standing there, like wolves eyeing their prey. I led Toshiro outside and closed the door a bit. "He is getting permission right now actually." He looked at me worriedly, "Are you okay? Aren't you happy?" I took a deep breath, "I'm fine but I'm still confused about my feelings for him. I don't know if he is the one for me, I'm just… I don't know." He seemed like he wanted to talk more but his demeanor changed to a more serious one and he said, "Well I wish you the best of luck Natalie. And…" he leaned in close and quietly said, "I hope you figure it out." And with that he turned and left. I watched him go and my heart was still beating fast by that last action he did. What is wrong with me? What is it about him that makes me so drawn to Toshiro? And I know it's not just because of last night. I got this periodically when he was around but not this strongly until now. But wasn't Ichigo the one I wanted? Gosh I'm a mess. I walked inside and saw Ichigo come out of the office. He looked up and gave me that goofy grin he had. Looks like my parents said yes; I smiled and ran into his arms. He caught me and spun me around once and put me down. He held me into his arms and it felt so nice; maybe he was the one. That's when my parents came into the living room and made the announcement. Mom cleared her throat and gained my brothers' attention, which had been focused on me and Ichigo. "Everyone, Dan and I have talked to Ichigo and have given him permission to date Natalie." At first there was silence, then an uproar, "WHAT!"

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i think in the end it will be an alternative ending kind of story or just a Toshiro x oc pairing. i cant decide! which ever i can get to first i guess. i'll figure it out eventually. hope yall enjoy it! next we will get to see what kind of tests ichigio will face and if h passes! ;)


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Alec sat there shocked but Ray was the first one to get up and start babbling something unintelligent. The three older ones argued amongst themselves for a while before the eldest, Chris, stood up and quieted the other two down. "Okay you two are being ridiculous. We should think about Natalie's happiness and support her in her decisions. So I say we do what we need to do and be the mature older brothers she needs. Okay?" The other two nodded their heads and Chris turned to Ichigo. "Ichigo right, I'm Chris the oldest, this is Ray, and Mikey. We love Natalie very much and we are only doing this to protect her so if you come with us we need to test you a bit." I looked at Ichigo and he took a deep breath. He walked with them outside and they closed the doors. The three tests were simple; Chris would test his intelligence, Ray would test his physical strength, and Mikey would test his skills as a gentleman. This covered as they said the basic knowledge of a man. And it showed them if he had the guts and will to treat me right. It was nice my brothers felt this strongly about me and my future. I just hope the strawberry doesn't die today.

Ichigos POV:

Chris took me outside and onto the steps with the other two in tow. Alec had to stay inside because he was too young according to the older three. "Alright this will be stage one with your test and it will be against me," said Chris. "I am going to test your knowledge," he explained and preceded in asking me many questions ranging from feelings for Natalie and basic common knowledge. His last question I expected to be hard but it was simple, more like a request. He asked, "Will you promise to never break her heart, that even if it doesn't work out between you two then you will still look out for her?" I looked into his eyes and saw the love and care he had for his sister. I never thought of what might happen if it didn't work out but I would never abandon her. "She is first my best friend and i will always be there for her no matter what. So I promise not to stop looking out for her, even if it doesn't work out," was my reply.

He smiled at my reply and said, "Alright, we're done here so let's move on to part 2." We walked to an open field near the apartment where the second eldest, Ray, was standing. "Hey you ready!" He yelled and walked toward us. "He's all yours." Chris replied. He put a hand on my shoulder and said, "Good luck." And he walked off toward the apartment. Ray had caught up to me and looked me up and down. I stood there unsure of what to do. That's when he made his move and threw a left hook at my face. I was able to dodge it in time but not fast enough for his kick. I stumbled to the side and then I saw him standing in a fighting stance. Looks like I'm going to have to fight him. He came at me again and I dodged another punch to the face. I kept dodging his attacks but he was so fast and quick minded I had a hard time keeping up with his movements. After about ten minutes of this I had bruises and cuts all over. But I was improving. I am now able to read and time his movements and make a counter attack. He's going for a left hook and it left an opening in his side. As soon as he made the move, I dodged the punch and hit him in the side. He stumbled back a moment and it left him wide open and I took the advantage. He blocked what he could but now we were even. As soon as I thought I had the upper hand and threw my next punch, he grabbed my fist and squeezed it a bit. He looked at me and smiled, "Alright, we are done here, next is Mikey's test so you better clean yourself up." He walked off toward the apartment and i saw Mikey come up to me. "Well at least you didn't die yet." he said as he looked me up and down, "Let's get you clean." And we walked to the apartment they were renting for their stay. After taking a shower and bandaging some of the deeper cuts, he gave me some spare clothes and we sat down at the bar in the kitchen. And then the quizzing started. He asked lots of questions and taught me some tricks with women. How to treat them, what they like, the works. It was definitely interesting. He kind of reminded me of a member of a host club or something. He tested me in everything he taught me and when we were done, we walked back to the apartment to discuss my results.

Natalie's POV:

It's been over an hour since the boys left and I was worried. I hope they haven't killed him or anything like that. Chris and Ray had already come back and are in the office. Mom is making dinner and dad is working on the computer. Mike soon came in with Ichigo and asked him to wait by the door for a while. Then he walked in the office to join his brothers. Ichigo had cuts and bruises on his hands and I wondered just what the heck did they do to him. A few minutes later the trio came back out and gave an announcement. "We have decided that we approve Ichigo and will allow him to date Natalie." I let out a breath and hugged Ichigo. He hugged me back but as he let go and looked at me I didn't see him. I saw a certain pair of sea green eyes and white hair. I blinked and Ichigo was there again. After he left I stood there not sure of what to think. I quickly went to my room and locked the door. Why did I see Toshiro instead Ichigo? Ichigo was the first one I had feelings for over the past month right? Then again Toshiro had been there too. He and I weren't as close as I was with Ichigo, and I only see him during school hours, so why do I feel so strange about him? When I'm with strawberry I think of Toshiro. I need to sleep this off and be ready for my date with Ichigo tomorrow. It will be fine, won't it?

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Next two chapters will maybe be the date and a whole chapter on how Toshiro's perspective on this.


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